1944 Paris

1944 Paris is a French, family-owned and independent makeup company founded in 2017 by the Delrieu family [2]. Despite the date in its name, the brand is not a heritage house: "1944" is a thematic reference to the year French women won the right to vote, which the company treats as a symbol of freedom and emancipation rather than a year of founding. Trading under the legal entity AD Beauty, it makes colour cosmetics, skincare and nail products sold both directly to consumers and through beauty professionals, under the tagline "Beauty is a Right". The brand remains active, with a current catalogue and a multilingual online store as of 2026.

According to the company, 1944 Paris was created in 2017 by the Delrieu family, who share what it describes as a passion for women, freedom and beauty. An industry feature described the family as having roughly thirty years of experience in the beauty sector, framing the venture as an insider's brand rather than a first-time launch [10]. The brand's own legal notices name AD Beauty as the operating limited-liability company and list Alban Delrieu as publication director — the initials "AD" matching his name [5].

The choice of "1944" is the brand's defining piece of storytelling. The company points to 1944 as the year women in France gained the vote, calling it "a key milestone in the long fight for equality" and a moment when, in its words, "for the first time, our voices were heard" [2]. French trade press covering the launch repeated this framing, noting that the house is named for the year French women obtained the right to vote. The number is therefore symbolic; the founding year is 2017, a point the company states plainly and that the launch-period coverage corroborates [11].

The brand launched in 2017 through beauty institutes, with a corner at the Paris department store Le Bon Marché and roughly 250 points of sale at the outset, many of them ColorForever institutes [11]. Trade coverage at the time noted a fast-growing catalogue — around seventy products projected by the end of that first year — and lipsticks named after notable women.

By 2019, an industry feature reported that 1944 Paris had reached 857 points of sale across France, spanning beauty institutes and nail bars [10]. The same year the company partnered with Women Safe, a French association working against violence toward women and children, providing financial support and volunteer makeup artists who run workshops.

1944 Paris describes itself as family-owned and independent. Its registered operating company is AD Beauty, a limited-liability company [5]. No parent company is named in the brand's materials, and no acquisition history is recorded.

The company's registered location is a point on which sources differ. The brand's own legal notices give the address as 83 Maurice Berteaux Street in Montmagny, in the Val-d'Oise department north of Paris [5]. A LinkedIn company profile used in an earlier data pass instead listed a central-Paris address on Boulevard Saint-Germain [12]. The legal notices, as the brand's authoritative filing, place the registered seat in Montmagny rather than central Paris.

The brand frames makeup as a form of freedom rather than concealment. Its stated ambition is "for every woman to feel as free as she is beautiful," and it positions its products to enhance rather than hide. The company organises this outlook around four pillars it calls Free Beauty, Quality & Care, Vegan & Ethical, and Sustainable Beauty.

On price, the brand and the press that covers it stress accessibility. A 2019 industry feature summarised the positioning with the line that quality "does not necessarily rhyme with high prices," placing the range in a mid-market bracket [10].

The catalogue covers three broad areas: makeup, skincare and nails. On the makeup side, the company highlights items such as a Panorama mascara, a BB cream with SPF50, a cream-to-powder bronzer called The Summer Veil, and a foundation, L'Éclat Solaire, also at SPF50. Its nail range centres on a semi-permanent "Vegan Gel" advertised with a three-week hold, sitting beside conventional polishes, base and top coats and repair treatments. The brand also runs a Korean-inspired skincare line it calls The Korean Routine, with cleansing and radiance products.

Vegan and cruelty-free formulation is the line's central claim. The company describes its makeup as made with vegan formulas and states that its nail products are "vegan, cruelty-free and composed of up to 75% natural ingredients" [7]. For its broader formulation approach, an outside industry article reported that the products combine botanical chemistry with cosmetology, citing antioxidants, hyaluronic acid and peptides [10]. The brand frames its skincare as a balance of effectiveness, sensoriality and what it terms commitment.

Alongside its vegan stance, 1944 Paris says it follows "a more conscious, sustainable and environmentally friendly approach" [9]. According to an industry feature, its products are manufactured by carefully selected companies that meet strict social and environmental standards, rather than in facilities the brand identifies by name [10]. The company does not cite third-party certifications such as PETA or Leaping Bunny seals in the material reviewed; "vegan" and "cruelty-free" are presented as its own values.

1944 Paris is an active brand. As of 2026 it operates a transactional online store with a current product range and a multilingual storefront, alongside a professional, business-to-business programme aimed at salons, beauticians, makeup artists and spas. The professional side supplies dedicated collections, training and complete in-cabin display setups. French in origin, the brand also reaches customers beyond France.